for watching. we appreciate your time. tonight on "world news" -- boiling point. new details about the veteran u.s. soldier who went door to door on a one-man massacre. gas spike. anger over the rising price of gas and what it means for your commute. red meat. revealed. the new numbers showing how just one serving a day could shorten your life by years. and the da vinci code. the art detective who cracked a 500-year-old mystery. is this leonardo's lost masterpiece? good evening. we begin tonight with the news of that american soldier accused of putting on his night vision goggles and then methodically going door to door, killing children and families in their homes in afghanistan.

it is a slaughter that threatens the already fragile future there. and tonight we are learning more about who he is. but we begin with abc's nick schifrin in kabul. an exclusive new video from that village in shock. >> reporter: americans and afghans agree on this much, this crime was unforgivable. it was a methodical massacre, 16 civilians, including 9 children, most shot through the head, their bodies wrapped in blankets and burned. "are these children taliban?" asks this woman. "is this 2-year-old a taliban?" the shooter, identified as a 38-year-old staff sergeant, slipped away from his base at 2:00 a.m., armed with at least two weapons. he walked south more than a mile and began stalking door to door. he entered the first house wearing night vision goggles. in the dark, he killed four afghans. then he shot this boy. [ speaking foreign language ] "i jumped under the bed, and

that's when he fired at me," he says, telling his story over the phone to president karzai. in a second house, the shooter killed a daughter, mother and grandmother. then gathered up four little boys and four little girls and killed every one. 11 dead in one family. [ speaking foreign language ] "you have wiped out entire generations," he says. the shooter stopped one last time, to kill an unarmed man. then he calmly returned to his base and turned himself in. it was all over in less than an hour and a half. like many, this man was so shocked he couldn't speak. the u.s. had actually been winning here. the locals were being won over. but now, two months after marines urinated on taliban corpses, three weeks after americans burned qurans, that trust and support has vanished. "the americans are our enemy, he says," and they will remain our enemy." how do you move forward at this point trying to regain that trust? >> killing innocent civilians in

their sleep is unforgivable, but we have to look to what were the circumstances. >> reporter: but there are no circumstances that can explain away these murders. and tonight, diane, there's fear the anger will spread and that people who had been supporting the u.s. in kandahar could turn toward the taliban. >> all right, nick, thank you. and as you know, officials have been up all night in the united states, worried about the repercussions. at the u.n., secretary of state hillary clinton seemed to be groping for words. >> this was a terrible, awful -- i can't even imagine the impact on the families. >> and president obama phoned afghan president hamid karzai in the middle of the night there in afghanistan, so eager to express his condolences. today, president obama said despite these tragic events america should not, quote, rush for the exits in afghanistan.

and tonight we do have a better portrait of the shooter coming in to focus. and abc's martha raddatz has been asking questions about him all day. martha. >> reporter: diane, the soldier is expected to face multiple murder charges in the coming days, which would carry the death penalty if he is convicted. that is also when his name will be made public. we are learning compelling details about his life at a troubled army base and his forward deployments to war zones. it was two months after terrorists brought down the world trade towers when the suspected shooter joined the army. he would spend much of the next decade at war as part of a brigade from washington state. that brigade first deployed to iraq in november 2003. it was back in iraq in 2006 for 15 months, suffering major causalities in the final months of the tour. back home in 2008, the soldier went through a full mental

health screening to become a sniper. he passed. at some point, an official told abc news the soldier suffered a mild brain injury, after hitting his head but was treated successfully. an official tells abc news, after his last deployment in 2009, the soldier, a husband and father of two, had difficulty re-adjusting to home life, though he eventually cleared routine mental health screenings. in december of last year, he headed for his first tour in afghanistan. the base where the soldier spent much of the decade is joint base lewis-mcchord, once called "the most troubled base in the military," with a history of violence. in january of this year, 24-year-old iraq veteran benjamin barnes killed a park ranger at mt. rainier. last year, sergeant duane rader poured lighter fluid on his wife and set her on fire. a combat medic killed his wife

and 5-year-old son before killing himself after a high-speed chase. and sergeant calvin gibbs was convicted of organizing and leading a squad of soldiers who killed afghans for sport. >> the department of defense, united states army, united states marine corps, are going to have to look at this again. are we pushing our troops too far, too fast, and are they exposed to too much combat. >> reporter: we're also learning tonight that the family of the accused army sergeant is being moved to lewis-mcchord base for their own protection. diane, they have been living off base. >> they too reeling, i'm sure, at this news. thank you, martha raddatz. and now we turn back here at home. if you drove to work today, you felt it. the average price of a gallon of gasoline up 4 cents in four days, now $3.80 a gallon. and americans are trying to cope. as the price goes up, forgoing the car, taking public transportation instead. we learned today, taking public

transportation in record numbers. and our new poll shows americans are blaming the president for this. abc's david muir is with us now with that story, david. >> reporter: diane, great to see you. as you know, we've been diving into these poll numbers all day today. tonight here, some of the faces behind the numbers. because across this country, as drivers headed to work today, we were right there in the car with them. from coast to coast tonight, "world news" in the passenger seat, with americans fed up with rising gas prices. this father of two, harry albandian, allowed us to come along for the ride, a more expensive one. the cost to fill his tank a month ago, $75. at the pump today -- >> $97. >> reporter: $97 it cost today. his baby george oblivious to the prices in the back seat. but his dad and so many other americans are not. there was jordan barhi, outside los angeles today. every six days filling up because of that 20-mile commute. before our camera could even focus, it was up to $104. we did the math. her commute this year will cost $442 more than last. and tonight our abc news poll

reveals the political damage. gas prices, now president obama's single weakest issue. 89% of americans say they're concerned about gas. 65% of americans disapprove of how the president is handling it. and the broader impact, president obama's approval rating on the economy losing six points in just a month. down to 38%. and while the same polls show that more than half of americans now believe that president obama will get a second term, the president knows that gas prices can drive voters away, and so do his opponents. >> since the president's been president, the cost of gasoline has doubled. and he says, well, it's not my fault. by the way, we've gone from "yes, i can," to "it's not my fault." >> reporter: but we wondered how have other first-term presidents fared when gas prices were on the rise. reagan facing gas prices up 5% from the year before. he won. bill clinton, gas prices up 6%. he won. now president obama, up 7%, and that number growing. late night having a field day with questions fueled by this.

>> your critics will say on capitol hill that you want gas prices to go higher because you had said before that will wean the american people. >> just from a political perspective, do you think the president of the united states going into re-election wants gas prices to go up higher? is that -- is that -- is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense? >> reporter: but the white house feeling the pressure on this, pointing out, just today, that this country is less dependent on foreign oil than it was when the president was elected. nearly 3 million barrels less per day. but, diane, as you and i know, that's not the number americans are looking at. they're looking at the pump, as we drove up to it with so many today. we all know the calendar says this is the last week of winter. but feeling more like memorial day. more than 230 records for high temperatures had been broken since friday. and more will fall as the week continues. the warm weather this winter has created an unexpected savings for millions of americans. but not all the news is good.

here's abc's sam champion. >> reporter: the month of march is following the rest of the winter as one of the warmest ever on record for the nation. just take a look at this. in chicago, the average temperature in march is 45 degrees, but today the windy city was at least 20 degrees warmer than that. and in wichita, which sees an average march temperature of 57 was over 70. this is new york central park last winter, where a whopping 61 inches of snow fell. making this warmth even more confusing by comparison. and this is central park today. after only 7 inches of snow all winter long, it's in the 70s and people are actually boating on the lake under the bridge. how's it going? >> good. >> reporter: why so warm? blame it on something called arctic oscillator. frigid air spinning up near the north pole keeps the jet stream and the cold air unusually far north, near the pole, so the u.s. is staying unseasonably warm. this may be good for the nation's economy by keeping

heat costs down. this marks the first winter in a decade that americans will spend less to heat their homes and businesses. those who heat with natural gas are seeing a 13% savings in their heating bills over last year. some home improvement stores are reporting booming sales of outdoor furniture and roofing materials as early as february. but the oddly warm weather is tricking mother nature. those cherry blossoms in the nation's capital which usually bloom in april are out in full force. and so too are bugs. most of them are normally dormant in march. orkin, the pest control company, has seen a more than 40% increase in calls for ant infestations. mosquitoes, ticks, termites, and ladybugs are also on the rise, coming out of their winter hibernation early, just like the temperatures. add another 14, at least 14 record high temperatures to that long list today. and then, diane, check this out. these are probably about a foot high, these daffodils. this time of year, they're about a month early.

they smell fantastic. but they're normally only about nubs this time of year coming out of the ground. >> apparently spring is here whether we like it or not. thank you, sam. tonight, the battle of the internet titans is on. yahoo! announcing shortly before we came on air that it is suing facebook, a massive lawsuit. at issue, ten patents involving technology and advertising. it is the first major legal showdown between two giant tech rivals. and it comes at a delicate time. facebook is on the road to going public right now. heading for an ipo that could value the company at about $100 billion. stay tuned. and still ahead here on "world news," meat lovers beware. why just one serving of red meat a day could shave years off your life. tonight, a reality check. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st,

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president now with no meat at all. >> i mostly eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grain bread and i just feel better doing it. >> reporter: clinton may end up living longer. according to a sweeping new study whose headline is "the more red meat you eat, the more likely you are to die." >> higher red meat consumption was associated with a higher risk of premature death. >> reporter: when more than 120,000 americans recorded their diets for 20 years, researchers found eating just one serving more of red meat a day can increase your risk of death by 12%. your chances of dying of heart disease goes up by 16%. and cancer, by 10%. but keep in mind that one serving is only the size of a deck of cards. not close to the portions in a restaurant or probably even at home. processed meats, bacon, hot dogs, possibly even worse. >> both processed and unprocessed red meat has higher risk of premature deaths but the

processed meat was definitely somewhat higher. >> reporter: bacon on a burger? you don't even want to think about it. >> so instead of the red meat, what do they learn? >> well, you want to substitute. look, we eat about 120 pounds of red meat per year. that means people are having red meat every single day. and what they found was if you substitute red meat with things like fish, chicken, nuts, it dramatically lowered people's risk of dying. >> so it's safe to eat? >> well, occasionally. today i had a hamburger for lunch. >> i knew you did, i was going to bust you on it. >> it was delicious. but i wouldn't do it more than twice a week. i think if you're twice a week for red meat, you're in the safe zone. >> so twice a week is the best advice tonight. thank you, richard besser. coming up, how a furry friend pulled a gorilla out of her funk. looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future

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prince harry has just completed his triumphant tour overseas. what a week it's been. it doesn't seem all that long ago when harry was the little red-haired boy being held by his mother princess diana. and now look at him this past week. following her footsteps. charming, funny, warm, generating huge crowds. celebrating the jubilee of his grandmother queen elizabeth. it was his first major diplomatic tour. he got rave reviews in britain. they're now saying the one-time party prince has become the queen's secret weapon. and we are getting to see a

side of a former president the world had never seen. richard nixon's library released letters he wrote while courting his then future wife pat, who was a much sought after beauty in their town. it turns out the man who was famously awkward was a romantic, calling her his "dearest," and writing, "every day and every night i want to see you and be with you." "let's really grow together and find the happiness we know is ours." and in another letter, he calls her an "irish gypsy who radiates all that is happy and beautiful." they would be married 53 years. and when she died, richard nixon sobbed at her funeral. his "dearest" was gone. and here's to friendship and consolation wherever you find it. samantha, a 47-year-old gorilla, has a cuddly new pet with long ears. a rabbit named "panda." they have become roommates at the erie pennsylvania zoo. the zoo put them together

because "samantha" seemed lonely after her last gorilla companion died. and zoo officials say she is old and kind and would never want to hurt the rabbit, even scratches the rabbit under the chin. they say they're just positive that "panda's" not in danger. as you see, there's an escape hatch right there. the "panda," rabbit, can get away just in case. coming up, one detective's amazing discovery. is this da vinci's long-lost masterpiece? you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job. so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious... like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels

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a stunning discovery -- a legendary mystery may have been solved. for four centuries, a masterpiece by leonardo da vinci was believed to be hidden somewhere in florence, but where? tonight, the clue it may have been found at last. "seek and yee shall find." here's abc's nick watt. >> reporter: this is the fevered focus of the art world. the site, perhaps, of a magnificent leonardo da vinci fresco, an unfinished masterpiece lost to mankind for 400 years. rubins gave us a sense of what he hoped it might look like. would you believe there was a code? and archaeologists discovered the words "cerca trova," "seek and you shall find" hidden in this vasari fresco. dan brown couldn't have written it any better. they found black material similar to pigments used in da vinci's mona lisa. "there are some traces of red lacquer," says maurizio seracini, the archaeologist who

found that hidden clue. and there's an air gap. did vasari leave a space between his work and the hidden leonardo gem? exciting, oh, yes. sunday night, the national geographic channel airs "finding the lost da vinci," following this epic search. leonardo left us the last supper. did he also leave us a magnificent secret? "our plan," says the mayor of florence, "is to drill and verify the condition." until then, they can't be sure. but you know what, maybe there's something to this whole da vinci code thing after all. nick watt, abc news, london. >> and experts say they're sure they can recover the painting, lifting off the one on top. as leonardo himself once reportedly said, art is never finished, only abandoned. in da vinci's case it may soon be resurrected. thank you for watching. we're always at abcnews.com. "nightline" will be on later. we hope to see you back tomorrow night.

the plea allows us to move forward. >> and there is a surprise plea bargain. >> a settlement in the san bruno pipeline explosion. pg&e gives millions to the city and fighting homeowners in court. >> a major milestone for bringing bart to silicon

valley. a $2 billion plus for the south bay economy. >> and a neighborhood eye sore about to be cleaned up. a follow up to you fix it week from the eye team. >> thank you. >> and ross mirkarimi announces a plea deal erasing a domestic violence charge and allows him to return, undistracted to his duties as sheriff. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm carolyn johnson. the surprise development comes on the day that the first jobs would are been selected in this case. instead the sheriff pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. abc 7 is live with the unexpected news. vic? >> well, carrow lib -- carolyn, it was a surprise to those covering this trial but the agreement apparently reached last night. now, today in court mirkarimi